Material handling apparatus



March 20, 1956 P. R. FRANCIS 2,738,955

MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Spt. 8, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

if INVENTOR. Pa 61/ 7? W62 0A5 March 20, 1956 P. R. FRANCIS ,738,

MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 8, 1950 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. pocz/ R gar/761:5

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March 20, 1956 P. R. FRANCIS 2,738,955

MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 8, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR. P M/ 7?. Francis I 2,738,955 Patented M 1.956

MATERrAL HANDLING APPARATUS Paul R. Francis, Los Angeles, Calif.,assignor to Alloy Steel and Metals Company, Los Angeles, Catifi, acorporation of California Application September 8, 1950, Serial No.183,793

6 claims. zen-190 This invention relates to material handling apparatusand it is more specifically concerned with apparatus involving a line towhich a bucket is attached. and a pulley handling the line so the bucketcarrying portion thereof canbe operated in either direction past thepulley.

There are various situations where devices such as buckets, or the like,are to be operated by lines, and Where with constructions heretoforeavailable the runs or operations have been limited to straight, orsubstan* tially straight, paths. As a typical example, in mines or inlike situations where materials are handled, it is common to employcable or line operated buckets, and in the usual situation if thehandling of the material necessitates moving .it in other than astraight path, multiple bucket arrangements are required, or occasionalchanges inset-up are necessary so that a single bucket is operatedsuccessively in different directions. v

It is a general object of this invention to provide mat'erial handlingapparatus having a line guiding pulley around or past which a bucketcarrying portion of a line can be operated in either direction, withoutrequiring disconnected of the bucket from the line.

Another object of this invention is to provide material handlingapparatus of the character referred to which is such that it can beoperated to advantage in a tunnel, or the like, where sections of thetunnel which are angularly related to each other form a corner, thepresent invention providing structure that will operate at such a cornerso that a bucket handling line is operable freely in either directionaround such corner.

It is another object of the invention to provide various features ofconstruction and formation. and arrangement of parts in apparatus of thegeneral character referred to,

to the end that a material handling bucket canbe operated effectivelyand economically.

The apparatus, as provided by the present invention, can be operated toadvantage where it is desired to opcrate a bucket, or the like, alongpaths that are angularly related, as, for instance, through angularlyrelated tunnel sections, and in a typical tunnel the apparatus can besupported on a post commonly located at the corner where angularlyrelated sections of the tunnel occur. In other cases, the apparatus maybe anchored directly to a wall or rock formation adjacent a corner. Theapparatus involves a drag line provided to handle a bucket.

Operating means for the linemay be located in one tunnel section remotefrom the corner where the tunnel sections connect. Guide means handlesor. guides the line in the tunnel sections and includes a dead endpulley. and a mounting therefor in the other or second tunnel section,remote from the corner, say, for instance, at the extreme end thereof,an outer corner pulley and a mounting means therefor that may anchor itto the outermost corner post, and an inner corner pulley and a mountingmeans therefor. The line is engaged around the dead end pulley to havesubstantially parallel sections extending therefrom to the cornerpulleys around which the line extends, and then continues insubstantially parallel sections to the opcrating means where the endportions are engaged on oppositely rotating drums. The bucket or otherelement to be operated is attached to the line as by one or morehangers, and in a typical situation the body of the bucket has aforwardly projecting yoke to which one hanger is attached and has arearwardly projecting lug to which a second hanger is attached. In suchcase, the hangers conmeet to spaced parts of the line. In a preferredconstruction the portion of the line to which the hangers connect is achain section and the hangers are chains that depend from the chainsection and connect to the bucket.

The inner corner pulley is characterized by a head carrying a sheave,and the head in its preferred form involves an elongate frame with adepending pivot member at one end and a depending block at the otherend. The sheave is carried by the pivot member through suit: ablebearings and has peripheral flanges that adjoin at a line carryingthroat and diverges so that one is an upper flange and the other a lowerflange. The lower flange is interrupted by a plurality of deep notcheswhich divide it into an annular series of tooth-like parts, leavingopenings that extend down from the line carrying channel formed by theflanges. As the line passes around the sheave, it is carried in thechannel formed by the flanges of the sheave, and when the hangersattached to the line reach the pulley they depend through openings ornotches occurring between the tooth-like portions of the lower flange.The block is preferably a boss-like member that may be supported forlimited rocking movement. I

The mounting means for the pulley just referred to preferably involves ashoe applicable to a post, or the like,. an arm pivoted to the shoe andpivotally carrying 'indicated 'by' line 44 on Fig. 3. view of a portionof the structure, being an enlarged] view taken as indicated by line 5-5on Fig. 3. Fig. '6'

is a detailed sectional View taken as indicated by line 6-45 on Fig. 5.Fig. 7 is a plan section taken as indicated byline 7"-7 on Fig. 3. Fig.8is' asectional view the head of the pulley, as by attachment to theblock of the. pulley frame. A suspension means normallyholds the arm ina suitable position so that the line is at a suitable elevation atthe-point where it is handled by the pulley.

The various objects and features of my invention will be fullyunderstood from the following detailed description of typical forms'andapplications of the invention, throughout which description reference ismade to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a somewhat diagrammatic plan sectional view of a typicalinstallation involving the apparatus of the present invention, thestructure being shown in a tunnel with angularly related sections andbeing such as to handle a bucket so that it operates in or through thesections and turns the corner that occurs where the tunnel sectionsconnect, the'buc'ket being shown atthe corner in the process of turningthe corner. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the bucket carryingsection of the line showing thebucket and illustrating the manner invwhich the'bucket is attached to the line. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailedsectional elevation of a portion of the structure taken substantially asindicated by line 3-3' on Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailedsectional vi'ewtaken as Fig. 5 is a bottom taken on line 8'-'8'on Fig.6, and Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing another'form' ofmounting.

The apparatus as provided by this invention can, in practice, be used toadvantage to handle various devices T or equipment, and since it isparticularly adaptedfor' operation of material handling devices it willbe referred It is also to be understood that toas handling a bucket. theapparatus'jof the present invention can be used to advantage in many andvarious situations. However, since it is shown as handling a bucket, itis shown in a as where tunnels are employed, posts 11 occur in the tun-.

nel sections A and B and are spaced apart lengthwise of the sections. Inthe particular case illustrated, posts occur at the corner portion sothat there is what I will term an inner corner post 11 and an outercorner post 11 I The present invention provides a drag line C and meansmounting the line C in the tunnel sections A and B so that it extendsbetween a dead end pulley F and an operating means K. The guide means inthe case illustrated involves not only the tail sheave or dead endpulley F but an inner corner pulley D, an outer corner pulley E,mounting means G for the dead end pulley F, mounting means H (see Fig.3) for the outer corner pulley E and mounting means I for the innercorner pulley D. The outer pulley E is shown below the inner pulley Dwhereas in practice such a pulley is usually located above the innerpulley. The bucket L to be handled is connected to the line C by one ormore hangers M, and the various general elements hereinabove referred toare so arranged and related that the line C has substantially parallelsections X and Y extending longitudinally in tunnel section A to thecorner 10, and has substantially parallel sections X and Y extendinglongitudinally through tunnel section B from the corner 10 to theoperating means K.

The line C may, in practice, be an elongate flexible ele ment such as acable, or the like, and as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, it is sosupported as to extend between the dead end pulley F and the operatingmeans K in the course of which it may extend around one or more corners10. The single corner 10 illustrated in the drawings will serve toillustrate the invention.

The dead end pulley F may be a, simple structure involving a sheavecarried in a yoke 21, and the mount ing means G for pulley F may involvean anchor 22 secured to a fixed part such as the end of tunnel sectionA, and may have the yoke 21 linked to it as shown in Fig. 1 of thedrawings. a

The outer corner pulley E, best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, may beof simple construction involving a sheave 25 carried in a yoke 26, andthe mounting means H for the pulley B may be of any suitableconstruction serving to secure the pulley E to a fixed part, such, forexample, as the outer corner post 11*. In practice, a single lineengaged around the post will serve as the mounting.

In the particular case illustrated (see Fig. 4), the mounting means H isshown as involving a shoe-like bracket engaged with the post 11 at onecorner thereof and having side lugs 31 and 32. The shoe-like bracket 30,when it is to be used on a post, may have angularly related sides eachwith one or more grippers or teeth 30 thereon. The shoe-like bracket 30is applicable to posts of various sizes and shapes.

A flexible retainer, for instance, a chain 33, may be attached to thelugs 31 and 32 and engaged around the post to retain the shoe-likebracket 30 in the desired position on the post. In the particular caseillustrated, where the retainer 33 is a chain, the lug 32 is forked sothat one end of the chain 33 can be hooked thereto and a threaded stem35 is connected to the other end of said chain and engages through anopening in lug 31. A nut 36 is threaded 0n the stem 35 and when it istightened it draws the chain tight around the post and firmly clamps theshoe-like bracket 30 thereon. In practice, a guard plate 33 may bearranged on the post beneath the chain.

The yoke 26 of pulley E is suitably connected to the shoe-like bracket30, as by a pivot pin 38.

The inner corner pulley D, best shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings,involves, generally, a sheave 40 and a head 41 that carries the sheave40. The head 41 may be formed so that it has an elongate flat frame part41* that carries a depending block 42 at one end and a depending pivotmember 43 at the other end. The sheave 40 is a line carrying sheavesupported by the pivot 43 and is positioned on the lower or downwardlyfacing side of frame 41. In the case illustrated, the sheave 40 has ahub 44 mounted on the pivot member 43 through suitable anti-frictionbearings 45, and it has a line carrying periphery or rim made up ofupper and lower flanges 46 and 47 that join at a throat 48 and divergetherefrom to form a line carrying channel 49. The upper flange 46 ofsheave 40 may be an ordinary plain continuous flange such as is commonto sheaves, and such as is shown throughout the drawings. In accordancewith the present invention,

the lower flange 47 of sheave 40 is provided with deep spaced notches 50which extend from the outermost periphery 51 of flange 47 to the throat.48. The notches 50 divide the lower flange 47 into a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced tooth-like parts Z, as shown in Fig. 5 of thedrawings, and at the bottoms of these notches there are axially disposedparts or bottoms 53 which continue down or depend from the throat 48, asclearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

In the preferred construction, the flat plate-like frame 41 completelyoverlies and covers the top of the sheave and it may have a dependingperipheral flange 41 that shields the periphery of the upper flange 46of thesheave.

The block 42 that depends from frame 41* may be formed as an integralpart of the frame 41.

The mounting means I provided to support pulley D supports pulley D in asuitable position between posts 11 and 11 and at a suitable elevation.In a typical case such as is shown in Fig. l, the means I supportspulley D about midway between the posts 11 and 11', although it will beapparent that this relationship may be varied, depending upon conditionsencountered in practice.

The mounting means I may involve a shoe 30 with lugs 31 and 32, aretainer 33, a stem 35 and a nut 36, etc., all as shown in Fig. 4 of thedrawings and corresponding with such parts entering into the means H, asabove described. In addition to these parts, the means I involves an armjoined to the shoe 30 by a horizontal pivot pm 66 and serving to carrythe head 41. The pivot pin may be detachable and when in operatingposition may be retained by a pivoted key 66".

In a case where a mounting means such as the means I is to be applied toa wall as, for instance, to a rock formation 11 as shown in Fig. 9,anchors 30 may be applied to the wall to hold a bushing 30 that carriesthe yoke otherwise applied to a sheave as above described. A pin 30secures the bushing 30 to the anchors 30". In the particular caseillustrated, the arm 65 is a length of tubing and is provided at itsinner end with a yoke 69 that is connected to the shoe-like bracket 30by the pin 66. The opposite end of the arm 65 is connected to the head41 by engaging in an opening 70 in the block 42 where it is retained, asby collars 71 and 71", or the like. In the preferred construction, thearm 65 is rotatable in the block 42 so that the sheave 40 can rocksomewhat as the apparatus operates. The rocking movement need only bethrough a few degrees, and such movement may be stopped by a stop lug70' operating in a notch 70 in collar 71 (see Fig. 8). In the particularinstallation illustrated, the pivot pin 66 is horizontally disposed and,as above mentioned, the arm 65 of the means I is of such length as tosupport the pulley D about midway between the posts 11 and 11 Asuspension means is provided for holding the arms of means I so that thepulley D is at the desired elevation. Inthe case illustrated, thesuspension means involves arenas-s a chain to with one end attached toan eye 81 orthe frame 4i of pulley D, while the other end is attached toa shoe-like bracket 30 corresponding to the shoe-like bracket of themeans H and i, above described. The eye 81 may be. formed integrallywith the frame 41 to act as a reinforcing element. The shoe-like bracket30 of the sus ension means may be secured to a suitable support such aspost 11 through a retainer 33, and in general the mounting of this shoelilte bracket 30' may he the same as that illustrated in Fig. 4 or, thedrawings. The outer or upper end of chain 80 is shown connected to theshoe-like bracket 30 through a ho k 82 connected tot'he shoelike bracket30, by a pivot pin 83. Through this COfistr'LlCt'ibIi, the 'ei'lfifil'l'length (if the chain 80' Can be varied with consequent raising orlowering of the pulley D, as circumstances require. In practice, it isgenerally desirable to have the sheave carrying arm 65 pitched orinclined somewhat downwardly as it projects fi'oiii thepo'st to which itis attached. 7

The particular bucket L illustrated in the drawings, (see Fig. 2), isfor handling loose material, such as encountered in a mine, and is shownas having a cup-like body 90 with a lip 91. A yoke 92 projects forwardfrom the body of the bucket and a lug 93 is provided at the rearthereof. When this type of bucket is to be handled, it is desirable toprovide two hangers M, each of which may involve a length of chain 94with its upper end or uppermost link connected to a cable C while itslowermost link is connected to the bucket. In the constructionillustrated, which is best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, one hanger Mconnects to the forward end of yoke 92, while the other hanger Mconnects to the lug 93, and these hangers M depend from the cable C inextending therefrom to the bucket. It is desirable, in practice, toprovide the cable C with a chain section 95 at the point where thebucket'is connected to the cable, the chain section 95 being of suchlength as to extend a suitable distance in either direction from thebucket,

and being of link construction, it is suitable for attachment of thehangers, as shown in Fig. 2. In the preferred construction, the chainsection 95 has end portions 95 joined to the line C by suitable joints95 The end portions 95 are joined to the central bucket carrying portion95 of the chain 95 by swivel joints 95 which prevent the portion 95 frombeing undesirably twisted as twist occurs in the line C.

As shown throughout the drawings, the cable C is engaged around pulleyD, and when thechain section 95 of the cable is at the corner 10, it isin engagement with pulley D. The notches 50 are so spaced or formed inthe lower flange of pulley D and are so related to the links of chainsection 95 that a link is received in each notch, causing the chainsection to fit the sheave in the manner clearly illustrated in Figs. 5and 6 of the drawings. As the chain section 95 of the cable operatesaround pulley D, the hanger or hangers M, as the case may be, attachedto the chain section 95, depend through the notches 50, with the resultthat the bucket L carried beneath the chain section 95 may be carriedaround or through the corner 10 from one tunnel section A to the otherwithout interruption or disengagement of the cable from the pulley.

The operating means K may be suitably located in one of the tunnelsections, as for instance, in tunnel section B, at a point remote fromcorner 10, and may be any suitable mechanism serving to operate the lineC to move chain section 95 through the tunnel sections A and B andaround the corner 10 while maintaining the cable under reasonabletension. The means K may be any standard or conventional slush hoist. Inthe particular case illustrated, the means K is shown as involving asuitable base 100 anchored in tunnel section B and carrying a primemover in the form of a reversible motor 101, which motor operates twodrums 102 and 103. The end portions of the line C continuing from lineor restricted to the specific details herein set forth, but

wish to reserve to myself any variations or modifications that may"appear to-those skilled'in the an and fall within the scope ofthefollowing claims:

Having described my invention; claim:

' l. A pulley and line apparatns'ineluding, a sheave, a head at one sideof the sheave rotatably supporting it, the sheave having peripheralflanges defining a line carrying channel in the plane'of thesneave, theflangeremote from the head having notches therein to accommodate ahanger projecting from a line carried by the sheave, there being a blockon the head adjacent the periphery of the sheave and on an axiscoincidental with the plane of the sheave and extending radiallytherefrom and support- 1 ing the head, and a mounting member rotatablysupporting the block on said axis.

2. A pulley and line apparatus including, a sheave having peripheralflanges defining a channel in the plane of the sheave, one of theflanges having a plurality of notches therein, means rotatablysupporting the sheave, a line having a chain section and a hangercarried by a link of the chain section and-depending therefrom, therebeing a block on the head adjacent the periphery of the sheave and on anaxis coincidental with the plane of the sheave and extending radiallytherefrom and supporting the head, and a mounting member rotatablysupporting the block on said axis, the line being carried in the channeland the hanger being received in one of the notches in said one flangeas the line operates over the sheave. v

3. A pulley and line apparatus including, a sheave having peripheralflanges defining a channel in the plane of the sheave, one of theflanges having a plurality of notches therein, means rotatablysupporting the sheave, a line having a chain section inserted thereinwith a hanger projecting therefrom, the line being carried in thechannel and, having angularly related portions extending freely from thesheave and the'hanger being received in one of the notches in said oneflange as the line operates over the sheave, there being a block on thehead adjacent the periphery of the sheave and on an axis coincidentalwith the plane of the sheave and extending radially therefrom andsupporting the head, and a mountingmember rotatably supporting the blockon said axis.

4. A pulley and line apparatus including, a sheave having peripheralflanges defining a channel in the plane of the sheave, one of theflanges having a plurality of notches therein, means rotatablysupporting the sheave, a line having a chain section inserted thereinand with spaced hangers depending therefrom, the line being carried inthe channel and having angularly related portions extending freely fromthe sheave and the hangers being received in notches in said one flangeas the line operates over the sheave, there being a block on the headadjacent the periphery of the sheave and on an axis coincidental withthe plane of the sheave and extending radially therefrom and supportingthe head, and a mounting member rotatably supporting the block on saidaxis.

5. A pulley and line apparatus including, a sheave having peripheralflanges defining a channel in the plane of the sheave, one of theflanges having a plurality of notches therein, means rotatablysupporting the sheave, a line having a chain section inserted thereinand a hanger carried by a link of the chain section and dependingtherefrom, the line being carried in the channel and the hanger beingreceived in one of the notches inv said notched flange as the lineoperates over the sheave, there being a block on the head adjacent theperiphery of the sheave and on an axis coincidental with the plane ofthe sheave and extending radially therefrom and supporting the head, anda mounting member rotatably supporting the block on said axis, the chainsection having a middle portion carrying the hanger and having endportions pivotally connected to the middle portion and receiving theline. 7

6. A pulley and line apparatus including, a sheave, a head at one sideof the sheave rotatably supporting it, the sheave having peripheralflanges defining a line carrying channel in the plane of the sheave, theflange remote from the head having notches therein to accommodate ahanger projecting from a line carried by the sheave, a block on the headadjacent the periphery of the sheave and on an axis coincidental withthe plane of the sheave and extending radially therefrom and supportingthe head, an arm rotatably supporting the block on an axis parallelwiththe longitudinal axis of the arm, and stop means limiting pivotalmovement between the arm and block.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

